The U.S. Prime Suspect has one terrible, undeniable problem: its title. Even though the U.S. Prime Suspect is closely based on the U.K. Prime Suspect, the title just doesn’t work. The reason for this has everything to do with the structural difference between U.S. broadcast network prime-time and U.K. broadcast network prime-time.

Noel Collins, who has died of cancer aged 74, was a linchpin of the police series Juliet Bravo throughout its entire six-series run. As Sergeant George Parrish, he was familiar for his "Yes, ma'am" response to consecutive uniformed inspectors Jean Darblay (Stephanie Turner) and Kate Longton (Anna Carteret). Parrish and his male colleagues were seen adjusting to working with a female boss in the BBC programme, which was launched a decade before the more hard-edged Prime Suspect – although four months after ITV's The Gentle Touch, which starred Jill Gascoine as a detective inspector.

The pace of life was slow in Juliet Bravo, whose title came from a police call-sign. The series (1980-85), set in the fictional Lancashire town of Hartley and described by one television critic as "Dixon in skirts", was also notable for being the flipside to its creator Ian Kennedy-Martin's previous,

Gravelly goddess Sharon Gless telling the flasher to put it away during the opening credits of Cagney & Lacey. Helen Mirren's Dci Jane Tennison insisting that Met misogynists call her guv, not ma'am, in Prime Suspect. The 80s power-hair of Jill Gascoine in The Gentle Touch and Heather Locklear in Tj Hooker – so huge it barely fits on their warrant card photos. There is nothing quite like a female TV cop. And we've been waiting ages – four years, in fact, since the Kleenex-crumpling climax of Prime Suspect: The Final Act – for another worthy one to come along. But already this year, like buses with blue lights on top, two have arrived at once.

A fortnight ago, the annual Above Suspicion mini-series brought us the formidable,

Jill Gascoine has stepped down from the role of EastEnders' Glenda Mitchell, forcing the soap's bosses to recast the character just days after the initial announcement. With such tight filming schedules, the series was forced to hire a replacement, opting for 53-year-old ex-Dempsey and Makepeace actress Glynis Barber. Earlier this week, producers revealed that 72-year-old Gascoine - star of The Gentle Touch and C.A.T.S. Eyes - had signed to play the role of Archie Mitchell's (Larry Lamb) estranged wife Glenda. However, during her first day on set, Gascoine took the decision to withdraw from her filming commitments as she felt that she "lacked the right experience to film such a big continuing drama". Speaking of her conclusion to step down, Gascoine said: "I was so looking forward (more)

Star of The Gentle Touch and C.A.T.S. EyesJill Gascoine has joined the cast of EastEnders as Archie Mitchell's estranged wife Glenda. The 72-year-old - who played Detective Inspector Maggie Forbes in the '80s TV shows - first appears in Walford as Glenda in January, much to the shock of her daughters Ronnie (Samantha Womack) and Roxy (Rita Simons). Despite having never been seen on screen, Glenda's potted backstory has formed through her children, ex-husband Archie (Larry Lamb) and sister-in-law Peggy (Barbara Windsor). Described as Archie's "first beautiful, quiet and dutiful wife", Glenda walked out on him and the girls around the time Ronnie gave birth at the age of 14. Archie's controlling nature turned the once brash and confident Glenda into a nervous wreck and when Archie orchestrated their teen daughter's child (more)

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